Trump’s “Extremely Disturbing and Unethical” New Rule Allows the VA to Deny Veterans Medical Treatment Arrow

In his ongoing campaign of revenge and retribution, Donald Trump is attacking veterans' access to quality health care. In new guidelines following one of Trump's executive orders, Trump's Department of Veteran Affairs is allowing VA doctors to refuse to treat veterans based on their political or marital status. The Trump administration's mass firings and funding cuts have already devastated veterans and servicemembers across the country, exacerbating staff shortages and slashing cancer trials. Instead of protecting veterans' hard-earned benefits, Trump is using our military as pawns in his reckless political games.

NEW: Donald Trump imposed an executive order that led to new guidelines allowing Veterans Affairs doctors to refuse to treat veterans based on their political or marital status.

The Guardian: "'Extremely disturbing and unethical': new rules allow VA doctors to refuse to treat Democrats, unmarried veterans"

"Doctors at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals nationwide could refuse to treat unmarried veterans and Democrats under new hospital guidelines imposed following an executive order by Donald Trump. …

"Doctors and other medical staff can also be barred from working at VA hospitals based on their marital status, political party affiliation or union activity, documents reviewed by the Guardian show. The changes also affect chiropractors, certified nurse practitioners, optometrists, podiatrists, licensed clinical social workers and speech therapists. …

"In interviews, veterans said the impact of the new policy would probably fall hardest on female veterans, LGBTQ+ veterans and those who live in rural areas where there are fewer doctors overall."

Trump is threatening veterans' health care and hard-earned benefits through mass firings and funding cuts, and will inflict even more damage with his billionaire-first budget.

Federal News Network: "VA employees who work on the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) say the hiring freeze has affected the hiring of support staff."

Washington Post: "Veterans Crisis Line operators say they feel battered by Trump, DOGE"

ProPublica: "Earlier this year, doctors at Veterans Affairs hospitals in Pennsylvania sounded an alarm. Sweeping cuts imposed by the Trump administration, they told higher-ups in an email, were causing 'severe and immediate impacts,' including to 'life-saving cancer trials.'

"The email said more than 1,000 veterans would lose access to treatment for diseases ranging from metastatic head and neck cancers, to kidney disease, to traumatic brain injuries."

Because of Trump's chaotic funding cuts, veterans have struggled to access care through the VA.

Washington Examiner: "VA layoffs spark concerns about veterans' care: 'This could be life or death'"

"The employee explained many of the calls they already receive from distressed veterans have to do with roadblocks regarding receiving their benefits.

"'A lot of these calls - they are calling because of their claims not going through, their claim getting denied. They just got bumped down from 50% to 10% or being worried about their SNAP benefits being cut or reduced,' the person explained."

New York Times: "The cramped conditions are the result of President Trump's decision to rescind remote work arrangements for federal employees, reversing a policy that at the V.A. long predated the pandemic. Since Mr. Trump's order, the Department of Veterans Affairs has been scrambling to find adequate office space for tens of thousands of health care employees, even those who see most or all of their patients virtually, while maintaining the legal requirement of confidentiality. …

"A social worker who treats homeless veterans in California said she was placed with a dozen other staff members in a windowless mailroom that was so crowded with undelivered packages that she had to move boxes to reach her cubicle.

"The Trump administration has said it plans to eliminate 80,000 V.A. jobs, or roughly one-sixth of the total work force…"